Smoke & Fire
by msjgatsby
Summary: The Paige/Mike scene I felt was missing from 1x09 Smoke Alarm.
1. Smoke

**Authors note:** This scene takes place during Smoke Alarm, between where Mike tells Juan he's done spying for him, and right before Mike goes to Bello's with Chinese and gets stabbed. Gives a little more of a punch to the hospital scene with Mike and Paige later on.

Rated T for sexual situations, but nothing that couldn't be aired on USA.

* * *

Paige is having a rough week.

This morning she had been working with the DEA to intercept a drug smuggling operation in the meat packing district. The driver had made a run for it, and Paige had chased him down. The guy had chosen an unfortunate escape route, which had resulted in Paige being covered in pig organs. Needless to say, when she got back to Graceland, a shower was needed.

She now sits in front of the mirror in her room, braiding her freshly clean hair, and swearing to herself she's becoming a vegetarian. A knock shakes her from her thoughts, and she looks up in the mirror to see the reflection of Mike standing in her doorway.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" He asks.

"Are you finally going to tell me what's been going on with you?" She asks pointedly. She's still in a bad mood after this morning, and hasn't forgotten him lying to her yesterday about the broken picture frame.

"Yeah, about that." Mike avoids eye contact like he does whenever they have this conversation. "I can't tell you what was going on, but I wanted you to know, I fixed it. It shouldn't be an issue from now on."

"Great. Whatever that means." She mutters under her breath, unsatisfied with his explanation.

"Look, it's not about you, ok? I promise. I'm trying here." She doesn't say anything in response and he fidgets awkwardly in the doorway. "So are we good?"

"It just doesn't feel like you're letting me in." Paige sighs, slamming down her hairbrush and turning to face him.

"I want to. It's just…"

"_Complicated._ So you've said." Paige huffs.

"Well, what do you want from me?" Mike asks, finally entering her room, and leaning over her vanity where she sits.

"Anything. Just give me something to work with here, Mike." She looks up at him with pleading eyes.

"Ok. Well…" Mike racks his brain. "When I was a kid, I thought I was superman. It was pretty bad. I tried to jump off the roof. I wore a cape all the time."

"That's it?" She asks unimpressed. "That's nothing, every little boy wants to be a superhero."

"No, Paige. This was like to a _really_ embarrassing age, and I didn't want to be a superhero. I thought I was one."

"What age?" She asks skeptically.

"Too old. Trust me." He blushes, looking away.

"Whatever Mike. If you don't want to let me in and want to be all alone..." Paige stands up and starts to walk away from him.

"Oh God, I'm going to regret this." Mike can't believe he's doing this, but he begins to unbutton his pants.

"What the hell are you doing?" Paige isn't sure what she was expecting from him, but it certainly wasn't this. She hopes he's not about to tell her he has four balls or is a hermaphrodite or something. Some things she'd be ok with not knowing.

"Showing you something no one else knows."

"This is not what I had in mind when I said..." She stops talking and cocks her head to the side quizzically. "You're wearing Batman underwear?"

"Oh, not just Batman. Justice League." Paige walks back over and kneels in front of him, inspecting his underwear more closely.

"Like I said. To an embarrassing age." Mike says, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"You wear these everyday?" She asks, looking up at him, a huge amused grin spreading across her face all the way to her green eyes.

"No, not everyday… Just, you know, when I need a pick-me-up… Um, Paige if someone walks in right now, this probably wouldn't look good." Mike laughs nervously, recognizing now how inappropriate this was of him to walk into her bedroom and take off his pants. He takes her hand and helps her to her feet.

Mike quickly realizes this was a mistake on his part as it only makes the moment seem more intimate. Now that she's standing at eye level, he notices their lips are mere inches apart, and his pants are still undone. He stares at her shyly, happy that she's smiling at him again. He hates it when they fight.

The silence stretches between them, filled with unsaid things. They're so close, Mike can see his nervous breaths ruffling her hair. Paige is the one who breaks eye contact first, taking half a step back and reaching down to her own pant's waistline. Mike's gaze follows hers down to her hip.

"What? You've got cartoon underwear on too?" He jokes. To his own ears, his voice sounds out of place in the silent moment.

She lowers her already low cut shorts and dips one finger in to pull out a red lacy strap of her thong that she holds out for Mike's inspection. Her eyes come back up to his face but his remain fixed on the thin piece of fabric peaking out from under her jeans.

"That's not quite the same." Mike says, his mouth suddenly dry.

"No, it's not." Paige murmurs. "But you showed me yours."

"You were wearing these the first night I met you." Mike runs his finger under the exposed strip of lace, his other fingers lightly grazing her hip.

"How did you…"

"Another secret about me," Mike whispers, watching her eyes carefully to judge her reaction, "When we first met, I had a small crush on you."

"And now?" She asks, her heart fluttering from his confession and the feel of his fingers skimming her bare skin.

"Now I know it's probably against the rules." He says cautiously, unable to stop fiddling with the lace and finding himself leaning in closer.

"Yeah, probably a bad idea." Paige agrees, staring at Mike's mouth.

"Terrible idea." Mike repeats, taking a deep breath and then closing the distance between them with a kiss.

His hands grip her hips, and her arms come up to wrap around his back. Months of pent up desires are released at once. Completely unwilling to let each other go, the two stumble backwards together in the direction of the bed.

"You don't think this is going to get in the way of the house do you?" Mike gasps as he yanks Paige's oversized sweater over her head.

"Think of it as a team building exercise." She says distractedly, focusing on unbuttoning his shirt.

"Oh right. Like a trust fall? We did those at Quantico. This one time-" Mike babbles nervously, helping her shrug off his now unbuttoned shirt from his shoulders.

"Mike?"

"Yeah?"

"No more talking." She orders, pushing him back onto the bed where she wants him.

"Yes Ma'am." Mike gulps, looking up at her and feeling as self-conscious as the first time he met her in that women's bathroom. She straddles his lap, and he wraps his arms around her, tilting his head up to kiss her deeply.

"Do you have a condom?" She asks breathlessly against his lips.

"Shit." Mike swears, burying his head into her neck, trying to calm himself down. If he leaves now, she might come to her senses before he gets back. "No. Not on me. I didn't know I'd need one. I have some in my room."

"No, wait." She dives across his half naked body and opens her nightstand, groping around blindly inside until she comes out with a silver wrapper.

"Last chance." She tells him, holding up the condom for him to take. "You sure you want one more regret?"

"Paige, I could never regret you."

"Top of the class." She rewards him with a kiss, as he closes his fingers around her outstretched hand.


	2. Fire

**Author's Note:** Right about now would be a conveniently timed commercial break to keep this T rated

* * *

"Alright, I gotta go." Mike buttons up his shirt and leans in to give Paige a casual kiss on the lips.

It was the sort of kiss a man might give a woman as he headed to work in the morning after fifty years of marriage. Paige didn't think she was ready for anything like marriage, but she wouldn't mind if Mike made that sort of kiss a habit.

"Look I'd love to stay but, Bello-" Mike tries to explain.

"No need to apologize. I get it. Go." Paige says, still flustered from what just happened between them.

"Look it was really fun. No. Wait, that came out wrong. I mean, you are… I really…" Mike is digging himself deeper into a hole. He struggles to find the right words and put on his shoes.

Giving up on the shoes he stands up straight in a huff. He runs his hand through his hair, frustrated with himself for not being more smooth. "Look, I want you to know, when I came in here I didn't plan on this. Not that I didn't want it to happen. What I am trying to say, very inarticulately, is…"

"Mike!" Paige grins, taking him by the belt loops and kissing him on the lips to shut him up. She pulls away and assures him, "It's fine. Really. Go."

"Really?" He snakes his arms around her waist and kisses her again.

"Really." She promises. "Go." All their words seem to be punctuated with kisses now. He'd never leave at this rate.

"Ok." He leans in and kisses her long and sweet, trying to tell her all the things he can't find the words to say.

"Mmm… Ok, now I really have to go." He groans, forcing himself to pull away from her. He pauses to give her one last shy smile, before heading out her bedroom door. "Bye."

"Bye." Paige sits on her bed grinning in disbelief, trying to process what just happened and calm the butterflies in her stomach.

"Listen this Bello thing might take all night, but will you have breakfast with me tomorrow?" Mike pops his head back into her room, and Paige jumps in surprise at his sudden return.

"Is this like when you say 'breakfast' but you really mean a freakishly early run?" Paige is not falling for that again.

"No, this is like when I say 'breakfast' but I really mean… a date." He smiles shyly at her, leaning up against her doorframe. "Like we go out somewhere just the two of us. You dress up. I pay."

"Is this an East Coast thing?" Paige raises her eyebrow skeptically at him.

"What? Undercover agents don't date?" Mike challenges.

"You do realize you've already gotten what most guys go on the date for?" Paige gestures to the rumpled sheets on her bed.

"Yeah, but I want to anyways." He insists. Holding his breath in anticipation of her answer, he asks again, "So what do you say? Breakfast?"

"Yeah. Sure. Breakfast." Paige smiles back at him shyly.

"Great! Good." He says, looking relieved. "Well, I guess I'll see you then. Seven AM. "

"Seven AM?!" Paige shrieks, but he's already gone. She jumps to her feet, and chases after him.

"Nine is a far more civilized hour!" She yells after him as he disappears down the hall.

"Eight then!" He yells up the stairs before she hears the front door shut.

"Seven AM my ass." She mutters to herself, a huge grin on her face. She skips down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What are you looking so happy about, Sunshine?" She whirls around to see Briggs standing there, looking at her suspiciously.

"Who me? Nothing." Paige says innocently, but she can't wipe the grin from her face.

"Fine. Keep your secrets woman." Briggs concedes a little too quickly. "Hey, have you seen Johnny around?"

"I think I heard him say something about laundry day. So, my guess is he's that thing you smell upstairs." Paige smiles at Briggs, reaching around him to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator.

"Thanks. Charlie's not with him by any chance? Do you know?" Briggs asks.

"I don't think so, but if you see her, ask her if she wants to go shopping."

"Will do." Briggs agrees distractedly, leaving Paige in search of Johnny.

Paige grabs an apple to eat on the go. She has to go shopping for a new outfit, because she's having breakfast with Mike tomorrow.


	3. Epilogue

Author's Notes: So I've actually had this tag written for a while, I just never posted it because it would be out of canon and I like the idea that the previous 2 chapters could have happened and not been shown on the show. And then I thought to hell with it and posted it anyways.

* * *

**Smoke & Fire 3**

Mike and Paige sit alone in Paige's room discussing Briggs. Mike is relieved to finally have someone he trusts to talk to about this. The other day at the hospital he thought Paige would never forgive him. That he'd lost her forever. The other morning when he had gotten back to the house had been horrible, after she'd stormed up the steps, he had followed her. He cringed at the memory.

_"Thank you."_

_"Don't thank me. In fact, don't even talk to me Mike," Paige snaps, "and go to bed. You look like shit."_

_"I got it." Mike says, "So, this is how things are going to be now? With us?"_

_"There is no 'us' Mike. I have to go. I can't even look at you right now."_

_"Paige, I don't want things between us to-"_

_"Yeah, well given all that's happened, I don't really give a damn what you want right now, Mike." Paige growled, grabbing her purse and storming towards the doorway he was blocking. "Now go lie down. You really do look awful."_

_He stepped to the side to let her pass and she stormed by him, being careful not to bump him._

Luckily, after he'd shown her the drawing he made as child and told her about Briggs's heroin addiction, she'd seemed to have calmed down. Since then, she'd constantly been pulling him aside to talk about Briggs, but there had been no mention of the status of his and Paige's relationship, his superhero boxer shorts, or whether she would still want to get breakfast.

"They think there's something going on with us. They're already wondering what we're doing in here. We might as well give them a show." Mike grins, lying on her bed, trying to bring up the topic of "us" in the most light way possible.

"You're still injured. With all the stupid antics you put your body through, those stitches look ready to burst. I don't want to have to explain why you exploded in my bed." Paige said in her normal smart alec way.

"God, you even make bleeding out sound sexy." Mike leans in to kiss her.

"Mike, you have to rest." She pushes him lightly away with a hand on his shoulder.

"I really don't. It's just a scratch. I'll be fine. I've just been milking it for the attention." Mike promises, leaning back in. He desperately wants to kiss her. Even with the injury, Briggs, the bounce house, and all the house drama, kissing her again has been the only thing on his mind recently.

"Liar." She doesn't think before she says it. It comes out harshly and is followed by silence. The word hangs in the air between them as he looks at her with hurt eyes.

"You know, I think I will go lie down for a while." Mike says, gingerly rising off her bed.

"Mike…" She tries to stop him, realizing she's hurt his feelings.

Mike pauses in her doorway.

"You think you don't know me anymore, but you do. Yes, I lied to you about why I was placed here, Paige, but the rest was all real." Mike says softly. Turning to look over his shoulder he promises. "Just know, as of this moment, you officially know me better than anyone else in the world."

When she doesn't reply, he turns and walks sadly out the door, heading back to his room.

It's convenient that he never unpacked his suitcase, but it leaves him very little to do but sit on the bed and stair forlornly at the wall.

"So I have a question."

Mike turns to see Paige leaning in his doorway.

"I certainly owe you that. You can ask me anything." He sighs. It doesn't matter much now. He's lost her. He braces himself for all the possible questions she might have. How could he lie to her, how did he live with himself, if he'd just slept with her as a trick...

"How is it you're the lowest on the totem pole and you managed to get your own bathroom while the rest of us are sharing?" Paige grins. This was certainly wasn't what he was expecting.

Mike smiles weakly at her. "When I leave, I'll make sure to nominate you to have my room."

"You're leaving now?" He tries to read what's hiding in her voice, but he can't.

"Not now, but the Briggs investigation should be wrapping up soon once we find out what happened to Juan, and once my investigation is over, there isn't really any reason for me to stay."

"You want to go back to DC?" Paige asks.

"I think maybe it would be best for everyone if I did." Mike admits sadly.

"Not for me."

"Really?" Mike can't bring himself to look up in her eyes. Can't let himself hope.

"Of course." She answers sincerely, and Mike believes her. He knows she still cares about him as a friend, but he doesn't know if that's enough for him anymore.

"Look I don't want to be 'that guy', but I've got to be honest. After what happened between us, I don't know if I could be just friends with you." Mike admits to her. "And I know that makes me sound like a dick, and I'm sorry, but I want more. It's killing me Paige."

"Who said we need to be just friends?" Paige asks.

"I thought that door was closed after you found out the truth." Mike says sadly, not wanting to remind her of that awful moment. "About why I'm here."

"I didn't find out. You told me. There's a difference."

"You still got pretty mad."

"Yes, I did." Paige is not revealing much here.

"I hoped that once I explained, we could move past this, but we haven't really...touched since." Mike knows he's coming off as such a jerk. He doesn't mean to sound like such a dirtbag, but he needs that physical connection with her. It doesn't even have to be sex. He just wants to hold her. To have her mouth back on his.

"You've been injured. I don't want to break you." She says simply. Realizing that he thought she was rejecting him she gives him a playful look and says, "You know for a smart guy, you're kind of stupid."

"So I've been told." Mike smiles softly, still not completely believing her.

Any doubt in Mikes mind is erased when she pins him to his bed and kisses him firmly on the mouth.

"Ow!" He hisses, clutching his side in pain from the sudden movement and the weight of her on top of him.

"Shut up you pansy. It's just a scratch." She grins, against his lips.


End file.
